Madden power past Harps as Armagh SFC quarter-final pairings are made

Madden scored 0-13 without reply either side of half-time with Armagh star Niall Grimley impressing as they booked a quarter-final meeting with Maghery

Cormac Leonard Armagh SFC preliminary quarter-final : Madden 0-25 Armagh Harps 1-8

Madden coasted to a 14-point win over Armagh Harps in the preliminary quarter-final at the Box-It Athletic Grounds on Sunday evening.

All but one of their 25-point tally came from play and they hit 0-13 without reply either side of the half-time whistle to comfortably book their place in the last eight.

The Harps were on the scoreboard after just 60 seconds when James McCoy split the posts and they doubled their advantage after six minutes when Tommy Turley hit the target.

Donal Rafferty got Madden off the mark before a Conor Grimley free levelled the contest.

A point from Darragh McMullen then edged the Raparees ahead before the Harps struck for the game’s first and only goal.

A booming kickout from John Daly broke to Ryan Shane, who put Tom O’Kane through and the raiding wing-back tucked a shot low beyond the reach of Jamie Sheridan.

Joe McElroy and McShane (two) added further points for the Armagh City side, but they failed to score after the 17 minute-mark as Madden took control of proceedings with a devastating 13-minute spell.

During that period of dominance, they hit 0-9 without reply after getting on top at midfield with Armagh star Niall Grimley impressing.

A delightful pass from McMullen found Niall Smith inside and the defender popped the ball over the bar to kickstart Madden’s prolonged purple spell.

Conor Grimley (two), Niall Grimley (two), Joe Sheridan, Ciaran Rafferty, McMullen and Smith rattled off successive scores as Madden led 0-15 to 1-5 at the break.

Pascal Canavan’s men needed a strong start to the second half, but instead Niall Grimley’s brilliant two-pointer just nine seconds after the restart meant Madden picked up where they left off in the first half.

When Ciaran Rafferty raised another orange flag moments later, the game was all but over as a contest.

James McCoy did force a fine save from Jamie Sheridan, but the Harps were second best on the night.

Madden were relentless with back-to-back points from Aron McKenna coming either side of McCoy’s second points – his side’s first for almost 25 minutes.

The game petered out in the final quarter and McShane’s stoppage-time point reduced the gap from 15 points to 14 with Madden sealing their place in the quarter-finals with plenty to spare.

They will now face 2020 champions Maghery in the quarter-finals next weekend with holders Clann Éireann draw to face League winners Killeavy.

Crossmaglen will face last season’s Intermediate champions Carrickcruppen while Cullyhanna will face St Peter’s.

Madden scorers: Niall Grimley 0-4 (1tp), Conor Grimley 0-4 (0-1f), Ciaran Rafferty 0-3 (1tp), Joe Sheridan 0-3, Oisin O’Hara 0-2, Donal Rafferty 0-2, Niall Smith 0-2, Darragh McMullen 0-2, Aron McKenna 0-2, Paidi Comiskey 0-1.

Armagh Harps scorers: Tom O’Kane 1-0 Ryan McShane 0-3, James McCoy 0-2, Joe McElroy 0-2 (0-1f), Tommy Turley 0-1.